"There's not a lot of things that she'll take back..."

As those of you on Facebook already know, tonight I saw They Might Be Giants at First Ave! My ears still feel a little fuzzy, and I'm hoarse from singing along, which, in short, means I had a fantastic time.

I hadn't heard anything about the show, and would have missed it completely had David not spotted it and let me know this morning. I love TMBG's album Flood and the songs "Cowtown" and "Ana Ng" (the latter both, I believe, thanks to Ellen), but know next to nothing about what they've been up to for the past 19 years,* despite the fact that I only started listening to them about 10 years ago. However, as luck would have it, tonight was one of a few Flood shows on their tour, so we called the box office for tickets. At 10 a.m. they had only sold about 1000 of 1500 tickets, and said we'd be fine getting tickets right before the show. We were, and it's such a great venue that even though we were near the back (having left after picking up our tickets to grab some Thai food), the views and sound were great.

So. Have I mentioned that I love living in the city, and having David keep me apprised of the cultural happenings? Awesome.

And now, briefly, on to the rest of Halloween!

I recently inherited my mom's 1976 Kitchenaid stand mixer,** which is pretty much the coolest heirloom of all time. Not only do I now have a Real Grownup piece of working kitchen equipment that has the added benefit of keeping the cookie dough in the bowl and off the walls, it brings back all sorts of delightful memories from my childhood (which the friend who repaired it for my mom, after it broke and she bought herself a new one, tells me is actually the smell of ozone).

Anyway, my awesome new mixer (thanks again, Mom!) means that I can now attempt recipes like my mom's amazing cinnamon rolls, which, I immodestly warn the fortunate friends who get to try them, will forever ruin them for other, lesser, imitations. I had never made the cinnamon rolls before, but armed with my mom's recipe, the Kitchenaid, and an irrational and undeserved faith in my baking skills, I went ahead and invited people over for cinnamon rolls after the race.

I only had to call my mom three or four times to have her help me with the recipe. Thankfully, she claimed not to mind, and even more thankfully, she walked me through turning my sad, shrunken, pallid little spirals of dough into delicious cinnamon rolls in a matter of minutes. In fact, four of us ate at least 12 of them at breakfast, and only two of us had run a half marathon. I didn't get any pictures of the baking process, or of the full pan, but this is what they looked like after we had wreaked our breakfast havoc.

After the friends left, I spent most of the afternoon working on my costume for the evening's party, which involved cutting the sleeves and collar off of, taking in, and sewing trim onto, a size 2X thriftstore dress; painting on a plastic clip-on earring to make it a cameo brooch; and straightening my hair. Sadly, this was all at the expense of a nap, which meant that I couldn't even last until midnight at the party, and ultimately spent as long on the costume as in it. Still, I'm really pleased with how it turned out! (Click for larger images)

I did wear the jeans under my dress, although I tucked them into my tall boots. David wore his boots, too.

Oh, and yes, we definitely practiced our pose before we headed out.

Here's a friend's picture of us at the party, which may also offer a closer look at my hair and the brooch (and David's excellent glasses, which were sunglasses until he poked the lenses out).

Oh, and here's one more David snapped with his phone; we actually only got into character for proper photos!


*They actually played "Theme from Flood," and the line "It's a brand new record, for 1990" got a big laugh.

**I Googled it just now to try to find a link, and was unsuccessful, but am further convinced that the 70s model is way cooler-looking than the current ones with that weird, thick base. And where are the arms to hold the bowl??

Halloween

So this year, I joined a friend to run the Monster Dash Half Marathon bright and early Halloween morning. I had considered various costume options (for a while, 80s cheerleader was the forerunner), but ultimately decided that I was too cheap and the weather too cold for anything fancy. I did at least go for colorful, thanks to last-minute striped legwarmers, an orange scarf a friend crocheted for me in college, and a bright green beanie.

Lots of other people had gotten crazy and creative with their costumes, including team ones--a pack of running bananas, several crayons, and a ketchup and mustard duo (the former of whom I ran close to for a mile or so, and who, when passersby shouted, "Mustard's up ahead!" would reply, "I'm trying to catch up!").

I'd considered running this race for several years, and had even driven my neighbor and friends to the start line year before last, but had always been somewhat daunted by its proximity to the TCM and had wondered whether I'd be able to run again so soon. As it turns out, I think it probably was a bit soon; I didn't feel quite the energy reserves on the course that I wanted to, and I've been moaning so much over my sore muscles that David has declared that I am not to run any more marathons or half marathons, ever. However, it was definitely a fun time, and although I could only keep up with my fast friend for about three miles (she ended up finishing with a 7:55 pace, while mine was 9:24), I did enjoy myself.

...So much that I just registered to run the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon on December 5 with my sister and brother-in-law. Woo-hoo!

Here are photos David took during the morning (as always, click to view the album and larger pictures):


In the last picture, after the race, I'm wearing my medal. It's on this weird yellow lace-thing, but the best part is that it is a belt buckle! I think this is pretty much the greatest idea ever. Now I just need to find a belt I can put it on.

I was going to write about our adventures after the race, but find myself too tired. So, see you here tomorrow!

NaBloPoMadness

Hello, Blog Friends!

It is November again, and that means NaBloPoMo. Last year I remember it being quite a bit harder than I would have anticipated, so this year I'm expecting another challenge. The good news, I suppose, is that I have all sorts of stories and pictures that I haven't posted here, including more or less the entire roadtrip back to Minneapolis (in August). Maybe the obligation to post every day will get me caught up on that.

In the meantime, I'll start with something a bit more recent. Today was relatively mild and sunny, and as I had completed and sent off a highly stressful fellowship application on Friday, and had run a half marathon on Saturday, I figured it'd be okay to take today off. Thus, David and I headed to Stillwater, a charming touristy little burg about 30 miles east of here, and spent the afternoon eating, poking around stores, and enjoying the scenic views. We were there probably about two weeks too late for really beautiful fall colors, but there was still some color left.

Tomorrow, I'll post about yesterday!

Pictures

I took these pictures of my office (and out the window that consistently fascinates me) yesterday with my camera phone. They appear to be a little smeary, but do sort of capture the permeating feel of the light. As always, click for larger images.

My desk:

Window, with Pillsbury Hall:

More Pillsbury:

Bookshelf and radiator:

Sink(!):

Closet:

My open office door, from the hallway:

And here are a few more random shots from the phone...

Unnecessary quotation marks in a Lincoln City Doughnut Shop:

Unnecessary quotation marks in the downtown post office:

My favorite nuns on the TCM course:

Band on the TCM course (picture for Teri):

Rockstars:

Happenin's

Or, Things I've Been Doing to Avoid Writing My Dissertation

Internets, I've been remiss, about many things, but I apologize to you, in any case, for my lack of blogging. Exciting (or at least vaguely interesting) things have been happening here--I just haven't been posting about them! So, to hit a few highlights...

I ran that marathon. The next morning, I had my first chiropractic appointment--that expo deal--and totally got the royal treatment (electrical muscle stimulation with heat, massage, ultrasound, cool lasers, and a [cracking!] adjustment). I left feeling fantastic, and although I was feeling pretty sore and awful by the end of the day, I think it really improved my recovery time. By Thursday of that week, I wasn't sore at all. He also lasered and re-taped my blisters, and even though they had been huge, they didn't bother me at all and had completely healed within about 10 days. More of David's pictures are here, if you're interested.

I took my turn presenting at the weekly Fellows' Luncheon. Approximately one third of the group was out with the flu or traveling or whatever, so it was a small crowd but went pretty well. I'm glad it's over.

Abraham came to town! The rockstars arrived Saturday night, in time to join us for a smashing dinner party, and then got my patented Nerd Tour of Mpls (including the theater, library, and post office) Sunday before playing a small show that evening in my apartment. Thanks to various factors conspiring against us, the turnout was very small, but we had a fantastic time and made merry until way too late for a school night. The rockstars left the next morning (which was snowy: thanks, Mpls) to continue their tour eastward; check out their upcoming appearances at their website. Here are some of David's pictures; be sure to view the full album for a few videos:


I sort of started running again, and registered for another half marathon. David took this picture because he thought it was funny that I looked like I was flipping him off. The subsequent run, my first since the marathon, was blessed with Wintry Mix and an awesome attack of cold-induced hives. Oh, yes. But yesterday, I ran a sunny six around the lakes with the friend I'm running the half with, and it was balmy--nearly 50°! The race is on Halloween, so I'm thinking about running in costume. The current front-runner is 80s cheerleader.

I made a lampshade. I don't actually remember why I was first inspired to do this, although this beautiful lamp in the window of the Uptown DWR didn't help. I think I'll write a little tutorial at some point, because we took a bunch of pictures, but for the moment here it is on David's head.

We got out. Last night, David and I saw Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Pantages Theater. It was the most amazing guitar playing I've ever seen live, and I have seen some impressive playing. Really an amazing show; if you ever have the opportunity to see them, DO! Tonight we saw The Importance of Being Earnest: Bros Before Hos Remix at the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater. Friday I took David to the French Meadow for the first time, and Saturday morning we discovered Isles Bun & Coffee together (despite passing the out-the-door line multiple times on my weekend lakes runs, I had never actually been in!). It's nice to live in the city.